Ah,
the innocence of youth. When good men seem really, really good;
and bad men seem really, really bad. Folks are heroes or villains—nothing
more; nothing less. While it’s true that “black” and
“white” exist, so do varying shades of “gray.”
As we mature, we learn well that even the best men and women among us
are flawed, some seriously.

Take, for example,
King David, Israel’s greatest and most beloved king. An ancestor
of Jesus and a man after God’s own heart, David was honored for
expanding the kingdom, for his bravery, and for his faithfulness in
friendship. This is the same David who took for himself another man’s
wife and, then, used his kingly clout to wipe out the competition.

Old and New Testaments
alike are replete with similar examples. The most prominent of the twelve
apostles, Peter denied His Lord, yet became an outstanding leader of
the early church and, in the end, died a courageous martyr.

Despite grievous
shortcomings, mercy and grace overtake the repentant—sometimes
through the godless. For instance, Cyrus the Mede gave rise to the renowned
Persian Empire and, as such, exercised policies of moderation that naturally
extended to the Hebrews. For his enabling their return to Judea to rebuild
the Temple, Scripture calls even this heathen king an “anointed
one.”

America’s
Founding Fathers

Bible personalities
are not alone in failure. Christian J. Pinto gives compelling evidence
that not every founding father of our great nation was what history
portrays him to be. While Pinto’s exposé of Secret
Mysteries of America’s Beginnings paints Thomas Paine,
John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin in less than favorable
light, God nonetheless used them to establish a nation with indisputably
Christian underpinnings.

• Thomas Paine

To his credit,
Revolutionary writer Thomas Paine was said to have “stirred the
American colonies to independence.” William J. Federer quotes
Paine as resigning to the will of his Creator God. However, in The
Age of Reason, Paine proclaimed his own mind to be his
church; he believed in no creed of the Protestant church, or any church
he knew of. According to leading historian Dr. James H. Billington,
Paine lived immorally in a ménage a trois with [Nicholas]
Bonneville and his wife (1797-1802). Though Federer suggests that Paine
repented of publishing the Age of Reason, other historians
concur that, even when dying, Paine flatly denied Christ and refused
personal salvation, when offered.

•
John Adams

And then there’s
John Adams, a Unitarian Universalist. His wife, Abigail, espoused the
teachings of her father who likewise rejected the doctrine of original
sin, as well as the full divinity of Christ. Both John and Abigail emphasized
reason and morality in religious life. Federer quotes Adams’ last
words as “Thank God, Jefferson lives!” Curious words, for
a dying Christian. In The American Leadership Tradition, the
foreword for which was written by Charles Colson, Marvin Olasky portrays
slave-owner Thomas Jefferson as “an infidel” and “a
shameless philanderer.”

•
Thomas Jefferson

Nevertheless, in
a letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush (21 April 1803), Jefferson proclaimed
himself “a Christian in the only sense in which he wished anyone
to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.”
Jefferson likewise eschewed “falsehood of the tongue.” Still,
some believe his God-talk to be more reflective of illumined Freemasonry
than that of biblical Christianity.

The so called “Jefferson
Bible,” entitled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth,
completely omitted the book of Revelation. Scripturally, to “take
away from the words of the book of this prophecy” is to forfeit
inclusion in the Book of Life (Rev. 22:19). That Jefferson dismissed
the virgin birth, Christ’s miracles, His resurrection and ascension
speak to Jefferson’s expressed wish that the United States would
become Unitarian.

•
Benjamin Franklin

While Franklin
was said to acknowledge the superior morality of Jesus Christ, he outright
rejected His authority. Even so, William Federer pairs Franklin with
the Great Awakening preacher, George Whitefield, alleged to be a very
close friend of his. Franklin would have “a Bible and a newspaper
in every house.” His appeal for prayer has since resulted to this
day in prayers opening both houses of Congress.

Said to be the
most influential American to invent the type of society America would
become, Benjamin Franklin nonetheless hob-knobbed with an English association
known as the Hellfire Club. Founded by Sir Francis Dashwood, the club’s
membership mocked traditional religion and partied with prostitutes.

Significantly,
Rosicrucians claim Franklin and Jefferson as fellows for embracing doctrines
advanced by occultist Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. A Russian born
medium, Blavatsky is best known as the spiritual godmother of today’s
New Age Movement; and Adolph Hitler admired her writings.

Our Nation’s
Foundational Quandary

Despite these observations,
five-time Governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry (1736-1799) asserts, "It
cannot be emphasized too strongly, nor too often, that this great nation
was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions,
but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Armed with compelling evidence,
good Christians proclaim with Henry that ours indeed is a noble spiritual
heritage.

Other equally devoted Christians insist, to the contrary, that many
of our nation’s founders were deists skilled at God-speak, but
practiced in enlightened principles of occult Illuminism. Birthed from
the ancient mysteries, images of gods and goddesses, zodiacs, obelisks,
reflecting pools, the illuminist trapezoid and “eye of Lucifer”
(as portrayed on the one-dollar bill) represent but a sampling of the
cacophony of arcane symbols found throughout our nation’s capitol.

Let’s
Hear it for Our Biblical Heritage

Some insist that
“If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a
duck, it must be a duck,” yet most agree that invoking the name
of God to bless America may or may not signal deep conviction. When
using the phrase, “God bless America,” it is apparent that
Bill and Hillary Clinton, Michael Moore, Barak Obama, Al Gore, George
Bush, Jimmy Carter, Jon Stewart, and/or Ronald Reagan come from unique
vantage points.

In public statements,
especially at the onset of his tyrannical reign, Hitler often spoke
positively about the “Christian” heritage of German culture;
moreover, he expounded belief in the "Aryan" Christ. Hitler’s
God-speak was unquestionably hollow; no one believes Hitler to be a
true disciple doing Christ’s work on earth.

Accordingly, given
character flaws of her founding fathers, many refuse to acknowledge
America’s clear Christian heritage. Fact is our nation was founded,
not on “the arm of flesh,” but rather on the One whose identity
is prominently displayed on our nation’s currency. The manifest
starting point of our Declaration of Independence is faith
in the Creator, who singularly imparts human rights.

What many fail
to realize is that our nation’s true Christian heritage actually
predates the likes of Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin
Franklin, and John Adams, as evidenced within the first colonial grant
made to Sir Walter Raleigh (1584); in the first charter of Virginia,
granted by King James I (1606); in subsequent Virginia charters (1609
and 1611); and various ones granted to the other colonies.

A mural depicting
early settlements of the East Coast of North America—namely, St.
Augustine (1565¬), Plymouth (1620), Jamestown (1607), and Savannah
(1733)—covers the ceiling of the Cox Corridor in the House Wing
of the U.S. Capitol Building. The map reminds us that the European history
of the United States began on a sandy inlet called Matanzas.

•
St. Augustine, Northern Florida (1565¬): Religious Freedom

Founded by Pedro
Menendez de Aviles of Spain, St. Augustine has been in existence continuously
since 1565. Therefore, it is the oldest European city in the United
States. Settlers were Huguenots—specifically, French Calvinists
who broke away from the Catholic Church to worship the Lord free from
Rome’s interference.

Their hope in colonizing
was to find a way of escape from persecution. You see, in choosing to
study the Bible for themselves and be led by the Holy Spirit in everyday
life, Huguenots were forced to fellowship in secret while huddled inside
dark caves.

Upon landing on
30 June 1564, Rene de Laudonniere led the colony in prayer, praising
God and asking that He “ayde us in all our enterprises, that
all might turne to his glory and the advancement of our King.”
For good reason our nation’s motto is “In God we trust.”
Arguably, our national heritage springs from this heartfelt prayer.

Unfortunately,
under command of King Philip II of Spain, General Menendez drew a line
in the sand, giving each man opportunity to renounce his faith and live,
or cross the line and meet his Maker. In an act of conscience, 111 Christian
men chose to cross that line and suffer martyrdom—this, for the
noble cause of religious freedom. In what became a series of massacres,
over 200 men were slaughtered. Fittingly, Menendez called the river
inlet Matanzas, meaning “slaughters.”

Aptly referred
to as “America’s hidden treasure,” the blood-washed
line in the sand typifies the source of strength from which our noble
nation has drawn.

•
Plymouth (1620): Rule of Law

Magna Carta
(1215) was the most significant early influence on the vast historical
process leading to constitutional law. The first written laws for the
new land, the 1620 Mayflower Compact served as the foundation
for the U.S. Constitution written more than 150 later.

Our nation’s
basic system of government grew out of the Compact, composed
by consensus of settlers arriving at New Plymouth in November of 1620.
Signers promised “all due submission and obedience”
to “just and equall Lawes, ordinances, Acts, constitutions
and offices.” Key to their undertaking was being “in
the Presence of God and one of another” expressly “for
the glorie of God and advancemente of ye Christian faith.”

•
Jamestown (1607): Free Enterprise

Former Prime Minister
of Great Britain, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher believes, rightly so, that
the triumph of America’s economic prosperity is her free market
system based on respect for rule of law, individual effort, and fair
dealing—all biblical principles.

By introducing
principles of free enterprise, ordinary settlers and indigenous peoples
alike profited from their own talents and abilities. To rejoice in the
fruit of one’s labor is our nation’s heritage. It is a gift
of God that, together with freedom of religious conviction and rule
of law, has shaped what became America’s biblically-grounded foundation.

•
Savannah (1733): Private Property

Beginning in 1733,
exploration through English trade was increasingly distinguished by
direct land acquisition through negotiated land-grants between Georgia
officials and Creek and Cherokee tribal leaders. The Treaty of Savannah
(21 May 1733) addressed matters of friendship, good will, fair trade,
justice, restitution, and mutually agreed upon, shared use of land—again,
biblical principles foundational to our nation.

Wheat and
Tares

“A Christian
nation” attracts and embraces the grace of God—as did French
Huguenots, Puritans at Plymouth, and devout early settlers of the new
world. Founding principles allowing for religious freedom, rule of law,
free enterprise, and right to private property are firmly embedded in
Bible truth; but the label does not presume each and every founder,
settler, parishioner, and citizen to be “Christian” by faith
or “godly” by nature.

Scripturally, we
learn that “wheat” and “tares” are permitted
to grow side-by-side lest the good be inadvertently discarded with the
bad. As such, rains of blessing and floods of adversity fall on the
just (“wheat”) and the unjust (“tares”).

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Once God revealed
to him the impending destruction of Sodom, Abraham interceded for “tares.”
In response, the Just Judge of the whole earth willingly agreed to withhold
judgment for the sake of fifty, forty-five, thirty, twenty—even
ten righteous men.

And so it is with
our nation. On behalf of her godly remnant, noble intercessors, and
her righteous few, God blesses America. For part two click below.

Daughter of an
Army Colonel, Debra graduated with distinction from the University of
Iowa. She then completed a Master of Education degree from the University
of Washington. These were followed by Bachelor of Theology and Master
of Ministries degrees-both from Pacific School of Theology.

While a teacher
in Kuwait, Debra undertook a three-month journey from the Persian Gulf
to London by means of VW "bug"! One summer, she tutored the daughter of
Kuwait's Head of Parliament while serving as superintendent of Kuwait's
first Vacation Bible School.

Having authored
the ABCs of Globalism and ABCs
of Cultural -Isms, Debra speaks to Christian and secular groups alike.
Her radio spots air globally. Presently, Debra co-hosts WOMANTalk
radio with Sharon Hughes and Friends, and she contributes monthly commentaries
to Changing Worldviews and NewsWithViews.com. Debra calls the Pacific
Northwest home.